Interstate 65 — Gary, IN to Mobile, AL

Hampton Inn Indianapolis South

7045 McFarland Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46237 · $$

If you left Chicago this morning, Indianapolis is where you stop for the night. You've done three hours, the kids are still relatively civilized, and pushing on to Louisville in the dark isn't worth the argument. The Hampton Inn on the south side puts you right on I-65 heading toward Kentucky in the morning. Pool, breakfast, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing you'll wake up a third of the way to Florida.

Comfort Inn Bowling Green

3040 Scottsville Rd, Bowling Green, KY 42104 · $

Bowling Green is home to the National Corvette Museum, which your car-loving kid will never shut up about, and it's the perfect overnight on I-65. You're through Kentucky, Nashville is an hour south in the morning, and the Comfort Inn is cheap enough that you feel good about splurging on the Corvette museum gift shop. Budget-friendly Griswold strategy at its finest.

Fairfield Inn Nashville at Opryland

211 Music City Cir, Nashville, TN 37214 · $$

Nashville is an obvious overnight on the I-65 corridor and the Fairfield Inn near Opryland puts you close to everything without paying downtown hotel prices. The kids swim while you order delivery from one of the best food cities in America. If you want to do Broadway and the honky-tonks, that's a twenty-minute drive — kid-friendly during the day, not so much after 8pm. Morning puts you two hours from Chattanooga and the I-75 connection.

Hampton Inn Decatur

2041 Beltline Rd SW, Decatur, AL 35601 · $

Decatur is the quiet overnight between Nashville and Birmingham if you're too tired to push on. The Hampton Inn is right off I-65, the price is right, and you're surrounded by enough Southern cooking restaurants to have a real dinner. Not every overnight stop needs to be exciting. Sometimes it just needs to be clean, have a pool, and not charge you $200. Decatur delivers on all three.

Holiday Inn Express Birmingham South

120 Cahaba Valley Rd, Pelham, AL 35124 · $$

Birmingham south puts you on the back half of I-65, with Montgomery two hours ahead and the Gulf Coast four hours beyond that. If you're coming from Nashville or Huntsville, Birmingham is the natural overnight. The Holiday Inn Express in Pelham is just south of the city — you avoid the downtown traffic and you're aimed straight at the coast in the morning. Pool, breakfast, standard issue. Get some sleep.

Indianapolis Children's Museum

3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208 · $$

The largest children's museum in the world. Not the state, not the country — the world. Five floors of dinosaurs, space exhibits, a working carousel, and a hot wheels track that will make your kid forget Disney exists for approximately four hours. If you're driving through Indianapolis and you skip this, your children will find out when they're older and they will never forgive you. Budget half a day minimum.

Fair Oaks Farms

856 N 600 E, Fair Oaks, IN 47943 · $$

A working dairy farm where your kids can watch a cow give birth on live camera, ride a bus through the barns, and see a pig adventure trail that's somehow a real thing. Fair Oaks is right off I-65 between Chicago and Indianapolis and it's the kind of stop where 'the kids will love it' actually turns out to be true. The ice cream at the end is made from the milk you just watched being collected. Full circle, people.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

800 W Main St, Louisville, KY 40202 · $$

There is a 120-foot-tall baseball bat leaning against the building. You literally cannot miss it from the highway. The factory tour lets your kids watch real Louisville Slugger bats being made, and every visitor gets a free mini bat at the end. Free bat. Your kids will sword-fight with them in the back seat for the next three states. You've been warned, but also — free bat.

Mammoth Cave National Park

1 Mammoth Cave Pkwy, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259 · $

The longest cave system in the world — over 420 miles of explored passages and they're still finding more. Mammoth Cave is about thirty minutes off I-65 and the ranger-led tours range from 'easy stroll' to 'crawl on your belly through a hole called Fat Man's Misery.' Pick the right tour for your kids' age and your own claustrophobia level. The Domes and Dripstones tour is perfect for families. This is a national park, people. The real deal.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center - Huntsville

1 Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL 35805 · $$

Huntsville built the rockets that put Americans on the moon, and the Space & Rocket Center has a full-size Saturn V lying on its side outside the building like it's no big deal. The museum has flight simulators, a space shot ride, and enough actual NASA hardware to make you realize your cell phone has more computing power than the Apollo missions. This is also where Space Camp lives — your kid has seen the movie. They will beg. You will consider it.

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari

452 E Christmas Blvd, Santa Claus, IN 47579 · $$$

A theme park in a town called Santa Claus, Indiana — and it's consistently rated one of the friendliest parks in America. Free drinks, free sunscreen, free parking, free Wi-Fi. The waterpark has three of the top-rated water coasters in the world. Holiday World is about forty minutes off I-65 between Louisville and Nashville, and if your family can give it a day, you'll wonder why nobody told you about this place sooner. The Voyage wooden coaster is a top-ten ride anywhere.

Buc-ee's - Leeds

6900 Buc-ee's Blvd, Leeds, AL 35094 · $

The Leeds Buc-ee's is just east of Birmingham and it's perfectly positioned for the I-65 crowd coming from Nashville. You've done about three hours on the road, the back seat snack supply is depleted, and someone needs a bathroom that doesn't smell like regret. The beaver provides. Brisket sandwich, beaver nuggets, clean facilities, and that brief moment of road trip peace that only Buc-ee's can deliver.

Portillo's - Merrillville

2911 E 79th Ave, Merrillville, IN 46410 · $

Portillo's is Chicago's answer to fast food and the Merrillville location is right off I-65 heading south out of Chicago. The Italian beef — dipped, with hot giardiniera — is the sandwich that Chicagoans describe to out-of-towners with a level of passion usually reserved for their sports teams. The chocolate cake shake is exactly what it sounds like and your kids will worship you for ordering it. Last taste of Chicago before Indiana takes over.

Dreamland Bar-B-Que - Birmingham

1427 14th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205 · $$

Alabama BBQ doesn't get the press that Texas or Carolina BBQ gets, and that's a mistake. Dreamland started in Tuscaloosa and this Birmingham location does ribs that'll make you forget what state you're in. White BBQ sauce — yes, white — is an Alabama thing and once you try it on smoked chicken, you'll wonder why the rest of the country hasn't figured this out yet. Your kids get ribs. You get ribs. Everyone gets ribs.

Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint - Nashville

410 4th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37201 · $$

If Hattie B's is Nashville's hot chicken temple, Martin's is the whole-hog BBQ cathedral. They cook the entire pig and the pulled pork is smoky and tender and comes with sides that could stand on their own as a meal. The redneck taco — pulled pork in a cornbread shell — is an engineering triumph. Downtown location, so parking is an adventure, but the food forgives everything. Your kids get mac and cheese. You get the brisket. Nobody leaves unhappy.

Hattie B's Hot Chicken - Nashville

112 19th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203 · $$

Nashville hot chicken is a religious experience and Hattie B's is the temple most visitors worship at. The heat levels range from 'Southern' (no heat) to 'Shut the Cluck Up' (genuine pain). Order your kids the mild tenders — they're still better than any chicken nugget they've ever eaten. Order yourself the medium and pretend you're fine. The line is long. The chicken is worth it. Welcome to Nashville.